musaraigne

shrew

From Middle French mesiraigne (16th c.), merisengne (15th c.), from Latin mūsarāneus, from Latin mūs (“mouse”) + arāneus (“spider-like”). So called because the bite of many shrews (e.g. Neomys fodiens) is venomous. According to the Trésor informatisé, the word is a borrowing from Latin, but the Middle French forms look by no means learned and could well be inherited. The modern -u- may be a Latinate alteration, however.